Outdoor Fiber Optic Lighting Projects

Alnwick Castle Gardens

The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland is a showcase for living green architecture and the work of leading Belgian garden designers, Jacques and Peter Wirtz. Thanks to the Duchess of Northumberland's passion for garden design, it's right at the forefront of contemporary garden design and innovation.

The Alnwick Garden includes the Serpent Garden with its holly topiary in the shape of a snake, the deadly Poison Garden with its dangerous plant inmates, and beautiful woodlands, rose gardens and orchards.

The Pavilion is the Garden's inspiring meeting place for dinners, conferences, parties and weddings, and is used both day and night. It's a bright, contemporary space where outdoor and indoor areas meet.

UFO was commissioned by DPA Lighting Consultants to supply and install decorative lighting in and around the Pavilion building. UFO's fiber optic lighting system was chosen because of the flexibility of the system and its safety and reliability, making it perfect for public spaces.

Inside the Pavilion, thin 19mm (0.7") UFO lights wands were used to shine light into the bubble-glass sinks in the washroom, creating a beautiful color-changing glow effect. The power source is a UFO standard 150W metal halide light unit with a varicolor wheel.

The outside space has a large paved area fitted with over 6,000 points of 1mm (0.04") end-lit polymer fiber. This is covered in a protective sheath and embedded in the grout between the tiles, creating a twinkling star-field effect which looks amazing at night.

UFO fiber optics also feature in the lighting for the steps leading down into the garden. This uses UFO's special side-emitting fiber to cast a soft burst of light down each of the steps. Both areas use 150W metal halide illuminators with DMX 512.

This DMX digital multiplex system is often used for stage lighting and effects, and increasingly in non-theatrical and architectural lighting. The DMX setup at Alnwick Garden allows the events team to control and dim the color of the fiber optics, make them twinkle or change color in time to music. Perfect for after-dark parties and special seasonal celebrations such as Halloween!